Railway line Berlin-Schönholz – Kremmen
The railway line Berlin-Schönholz – Kremmen (also: Kremmener Bahn ) is a railway line in northern Berlin and the surrounding Brandenburg area of Berlin. It branches in the Berlin district of Reinickendorf north of the station Berlin-Schönholz (then Schönholz-Reinickendorf) from the Berlin Northern Railway and leads via Tegel , Hennigsdorf and Velten to Kremmen . This is where the railway line to Neuruppin, opened in 1898, connects .
The route between Berlin-Schönholz and Hennigsdorf is used by the Berlin S-Bahn .
While all previously opened railway lines leading to Berlin were main lines , the Kremmener Bahn became the first branch line in Berlin. In addition, it did not have its own terminus, but was led to the Szczecin station from the start .
History until 1945
The desire for a connection between Berlin and the Ruppin district came mainly from the Velten side, as the city had grown to over 5,000 inhabitants through industrialization. Since the original plan to operate the railway privately could not be implemented, the Prussian state railways took the project. The first section was opened after around two years of construction on October 1, 1893 between Schönholz-Reinickendorf on the northern railway and Velten, the second on December 20, 1893 between Velten and Kremmen. Two train stations were added later, Eichbornstrasse in 1894 and Heiligensee in 1897.
The opening of the railway line soon led to the settlement of new industrial companies and the construction of new residential areas. As a result, the single-track, ground-level railway line had reached its capacity limit just a few years after it opened. The acquisition of land for an extension began as early as 1899. The route was raised from 1903 to 1905 from Schönholz-Reinickendorf to shortly before Tegel and all level crossings were replaced by bridges. At the same time, the two-track expansion took place.
From 1921 to 1927, the line from Tegel to Velten was also expanded to double-track and raised between Tegel and Hennigsdorf. The Tegel station itself, however, remained at ground level.
In 1927 the line from Berlin to Velten was electrified with the direct current system of the later Berlin S-Bahn . A new, attractive connection on the route was added in May 1935. The private Ruppin Railway introduced the use of modern railcars between Neuruppin or Meyenburg and the Stettin train station . From 1936 the line was operated in a joint service with the Reichsbahn , but operations had to be stopped at the beginning of the Second World War due to a lack of fuel.
History from 1945
After the Second World War, the second track was dismantled by the Soviet occupying forces. The line has been single-track since then.
On August 23, 1947, a serious railway accident occurred near Velten : In a passenger train , gasoline leaked from a canister that was deposited in the luggage rack. It was ignited by a cigarette. The fire spread to a packet of celluloid film and spread quickly. The conductor managed to stop the train. Since there was only one exit in the car in question, the travelers panic. 24 people died, 35 were also injured.
In 1953 the Berlin outer ring was built. The upper platform of the Hennigsdorf Nord crossing station was built at the point where a bridge crossed the Kremmener Bahn . The S-Bahn on the Kremmener Bahn initially ran through here without stopping; it was not until 1958 that a lower platform was built for transfer traffic. The transfer station was closed in 1998.
The construction of the wall on August 13, 1961 interrupted the rail line between Berlin-Heiligensee and Hennigsdorf. The embankment was removed in the border area, the line was now divided into two parts.
- In West Berlin , S-Bahn operations were continued by the Deutsche Reichsbahn, but with fewer and fewer passengers due to the S-Bahn boycott . After the transfer of the operating rights of the West Berlin part of the S-Bahn to the West Berlin BVG (January 9, 1984), the line for passenger traffic was shut down immediately; recommissioning was not planned. To the north of Tegel, part of the railway embankment was removed and the area used to build the Hamburg motorway . Freight traffic continued to take place on the section to Tegel. The military trains of the French occupation from Tegel via Gesundbrunnen and the Ringbahn to Strasbourg ran until 1994.
- In the GDR , the S-Bahn between Velten and Hennigsdorf had become an island operation. In 1983, electrification using the standard alternating current system of the Deutsche Reichsbahn also reached the northwestern outer ring of Berlin. At the same time, the section from Hennigsdorf to Velten was electrified with the alternating current system and the direct current operation of the S-Bahn was abandoned.
It was not until 1995 that the line was reactivated for the S-Bahn , initially only to Tegel . Since re-routing was necessary in the area of the motorway that had been built in the meantime, the gap between Tegel and Hennigsdorf could not be closed until 1998.
Hennigsdorf station would have had to be lavishly equipped with a multi-current system for simultaneous operation of the S-Bahn and electric long-distance train, as is the case at Birkenwerder station . It was therefore decided to opt for the simpler solution of operational separation. A platform was extended to the south for the S-Bahn. The platform length is only sufficient for S-Bahn trains that consist of a maximum of six cars. After that, the tracks are interrupted, and the regional trains of the electric long-distance railway run on the northern platform section.
Today's condition and train operation
Today the Kremmener Bahn is a single-track line that is operationally divided into two parts.
- From Berlin, the route is used by the S25 S-Bahn to Hennigsdorf station . In Alt-Reinickendorf, Tegel and Heiligensee there are crossing tracks to enable the S-Bahn to run every 20 minutes. It is operated with direct current and a busbar on the side.
- From Hennigsdorf the regional train line 55 goes to Kremmen . The only possible crossing is at Velten train station. In addition, the regional express RE6 ( Prignitz-Express ) runs from Berlin-Gesundbrunnen via Berlin-Spandau and the western Berlin outer ring to Hennigsdorf and then with a change of direction via the Kremmener Bahn and Neuruppin to Wittenberge .
There is a second track between Hennigsdorf and Velten, but it is not used for public transport. It is used as a test track for the Bombardier Transportation locomotive and motor vehicle plant located in Hennigsdorf (formerly Lokomotivbau Elektrotechnische Werke (LEW) ), as well as the Stadler Rail plant in Velten, and is equipped with both a conductor rail and an electrical overhead line.
The section from Berlin-Reinickendorf to Berlin-Tegel is a mixed route. There it is equipped with safety technology for both the S-Bahn (train block) and for regular long-distance trains (PZB 90).
Planning
In the next few years, a thorough renovation of the section between Schönholz and Tegel will be necessary. In this context, the reconstruction of the second S-Bahn track and the introduction of a 10-minute cycle to Tegel are planned. The platform of the S-Bahn station Karl-Bonhoeffer-Nervenklinik is to be moved closer to the subway station of the same name. For the district of Borsigwalde , the state of Berlin is aiming for a new stop on Holzhauser Straße in the long term. The plans for the expansion and modernization of the Tegel – Schönholz section have started (status: 2014), but the implementation previously planned for 2018/2019 has been postponed until after 2020. It is now assumed that the double-track expansion will go into operation in 2026. Before that, the route section is to be equipped with electronic interlockings and the new train control system ZBS by 2023 . The work for the construction of the electronic interlocking in the section Schönholz (exclusively) to Hennigsdorf began at the end of 2019, commissioning is scheduled for autumn 2021. It replaces the relay signal boxes in Reinickendorf, Tegel and Heiligensee.
The federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg are also investigating the integration of the Prignitz Express via the Kremmener Bahn to Berlin Gesundbrunnen . The preferred variant provides for the construction of a third long-distance railway track between Schönholz and Tegel for regional and freight traffic, building on the basic renovation and creation of the two-track system in Berlin. Further to Hennigsdorf, a mixed operation of the Prignitz Express and the S-Bahn is planned, whereby the second track would have to be built between Tegel and Schulzendorf. In Tegel station, the Prignitz Express will stop at a new regional platform that is to be built. The investment costs for this variant should be around 20 million euros. It is now estimated at 65 million euros.
A corridor study by the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg predicts an increase in passengers of up to 38% between Neuruppin and Kremmen without any improvements in services, which means that this section will reach its load limit. An extension of the RB55 to Neuruppin West would result in the construction of a new encounter section between Wustrau-Radensleben and Beetz-Sommerfeld, which would cost 25 million euros.
The restoration of the S-Bahn service from Hennigsdorf to Velten, which had ceased in 1983, was rejected by the State of Brandenburg in 2014. The city of Velten is committed to taking the existing infrastructure into account so that it can be restored in the future and the route is not obstructed. For a reconstruction with a stop in Hennigsdorf Nord, costs of at least 30 million euros were estimated in 2017. In mid-2019, the i2030 project group determined a cost of 115 million euros for a double-track reconstruction including stops in Hennigsdorf, Hennigsdorf Nord, Hohenschöpping and Velten as well as extensive renovations of the Hennigsdorf and Velten stations.
The expansion of the Berlin-Gesundbrunnen - Neuruppin railway corridor is to be divided into three plan approval sections. In the Neuruppin - Kremmen section, which is to be implemented first, the single-track line will have three more meeting points in order to enable the Prignitz Express to run at 30-minute intervals by 2023. The second planning phase includes the double-track expansion of the approximately five kilometers between Hennigsdorf and Velten for reconnecting Velten to the S-Bahn network. The third planning approval section Hennigsdorf - Gesundbrunnen is considered to be particularly complex and rich in conflict. The Gorkistraße level crossing in Berlin-Tegel is to be replaced by an underpass or overpass. No time horizon is known for the implementation of the last two sections.
Picture gallery
Reinickendorf freight yard, view towards Tegel, 1987
Station Karl Bonhoeffer mental hospital with the old station name Wittenau (Kremm. Rail)
Shortly before the end of the route in Heiligensee, 1987
Hennigsdorf station with piglet taxis on the S-Bahn platform, 1996
Kremmen station, looking north, 1991
literature
- Peter Bley: The Kremmener Bahn, Berlin-Schönholz-Hennigsdorf-Velten-Kremmen. Neddermeyer, Berlin 2004. ISBN 3-933254-52-3 .
- Bernhard Strowitzki: S-Bahn Berlin. Story (s) for on the go. Verlag GVE, Berlin 2002. ISBN 3-89218-073-3 .
- Bernd Kuhlman: Bahnknoten Berlin - The development of the Berlin railway network since 1838. Verlag GVE, Berlin 2006. ISBN 3-89218-099-7 .
- Thomas Hanna-Daoud: Bahn-Atlas Berlin The railway from 1838 until today . Ed .: BAHN-EXTRA. No. 160 . GeraMond Verlag GmbH, Munich 2019, p. 86 .
Web links
- Railway lines in the state of Brandenburg - Kremmener Bahn
- Berliner-Bahnen.de
- The history of the Kremmener Bahn
- Track plans of the Deutsche Reichsbahn, Kremmen, Velten (Mark), Hennigsdorf (near Berlin)
- Information and pictures on the expansion of the Kremmener Bahn at bastellen-doku.info
Individual evidence
- ^ Tegel station. private website www.kremmener-bahn.net, accessed on February 12, 2015 .
- ↑ Thoma Hanna-Daoud: Bahn-Atlas Berlin the railroad 1838 until today . Ed .: BAHN-EXTRA. No. 160 . GeraMond Verlag GmbH, Munich 2019, p. 85 .
- ↑ Chronicle of the Kremmener Bahn in short form. private website www.kremmener-bahn.net, accessed on February 12, 2015 .
- ^ Peter WB Semmens: Catastrophes on rails. A worldwide documentation. Transpress, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-344-71030-3 , p. 120.
- ^ Martin Weltner: Railway disasters. Serious train accidents and their causes. Munich 2008. ISBN 978-3-7654-7096-7 , p. 15.
- ^ Reports from the Berlin S-Bahn . In: Bahn-Report . No. 3 , 2020, p. 36 .
- ↑ Small question: What are the priorities of the “infrastructure coalition” made up of the SPD and CDU? (PDF; 49 KiB) Berlin House of Representatives, April 17, 2012, accessed on May 4, 2012 .
- ↑ Further access at S-Bahn stations Alt-Reinickendorf and Karl-Bonhoeffer-Nervenklinik. Printed matter No. 0109 / XVIII of BVV Reinickendorf, August 6, 2007.
- ↑ Printed matter 13/596. (PDF; 14.4 KiB) Answer to Small Question No. 393th Berlin House of Representatives , June 11, 1996, accessed on March 23, 2012 .
- ↑ Urban Development Plan for Transport (2011)
- ↑ Local transport in the Prignitz-Oberhavel region: Hennigsdorf Regional Conference (page 9). (PDF) (No longer available online.) Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg , May 13, 2014, archived from the original on July 14, 2014 ; Retrieved June 8, 2014 .
- ↑ Berlin S-Bahn extensively slowed down . In: signal . No. 1 , 2015, p. 7 .
- ↑ Printed matter 18/10347. Berlin House of Representatives, February 8, 2017, accessed on March 15, 2017 .
- ^ Reports from the Berlin S-Bahn . In: Bahn-Report . No. 3 , 2020, p. 36 .
- ↑ Feasibility study for the integration of the Prignitz-Express via the Kremmener Bahn to Berlin-Gesundbrunnen. Ministry of Infrastructure and Agriculture of the State of Brandenburg, March 19, 2012, accessed on March 20, 2012 .
- ↑ a b c Public Transport Concept 2030, Regionaldialog Wittenberge. (PDF) Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg , accessed on July 13, 2017 .
- ↑ No S-Bahn to Velten on www.eurailpress.de, September 3, 2014.
- ^ Roland Becker: Silver lining at the end of the track . Märkische online newspaper, February 9, 2015.
- ↑ Costs for the planned S25 extension to Velten explode. In: rbb24.de . October 4, 2019, accessed October 6, 2019 .
- ↑ Prignitz Express - bridge, tunnel or nothing at all? MOZ.de, November 27, 2019, accessed on April 21, 2020 .